


What the Hell do You Mean by the Flowers?

by wemighthavebeenqueens



Category: Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 04:19:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11592789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wemighthavebeenqueens/pseuds/wemighthavebeenqueens
Summary: Agnieszka's got a green thumb. This may come in handy to Sarkan.





	What the Hell do You Mean by the Flowers?

When she was little, Agnieszka Wójcik was the girl most often found with dirty palms and grass stained knees after recess. In her senior year of highschool, she’d grown an entire flat of strawberries in her locker and sold them to the underclassmen. So it came as little surprise to anyone that in college, she was dabbling in classes including botany, horticulture, and forestry. She was never more happy than when she was out in the abundant woods surrounding her school, or deep in the labyrinthe greenhouse system behind the local botanical gardens, a perk of her internship.

However, on this particular day, she found herself in the belly of a concrete walled lecture hall, feeling very much like she was in a crypt. Her closest friend and roommate Kasia, herself a first-generation citizen like Nieshka, was sitting beside her, her hands rigid on the arms of the chair as she leaned forward in her seat, her eyes ablaze with excitement. Kasia was the kind of girl who was passionate about a lot, but she was especially excited about this moment. The two were attending a special speaker event, and the speaker was someone most intriguing.  
Sarkan (who went by his enigmatic first name only) was an immensely talented, highly reclusive young actor, musician, and all-around performer who had remained mostly out of the public eye for a while. He gained part of his fame from being from a long line of silver screen superstars, but his quiet charisma and talent also meant that he exuded a strange pull on everyone who followed his fame. Besides, in this college town, he was somewhat of a hometown hero. And yet- he had not appeared in public now for almost two years. He was only twenty-four.

The other piece of excitement stemming from Sarkan’s appearance was the rumors swirling that he had something important to announce. Something related to politics. Something about running for a prominent local representative. Perhaps for senator. Some theorists suggested he was going to run for president. At least, that seemed a bit outlandish.

Kasia was especially excited for this. She was on a track to major in foreign policy and government, and she would’ve hurdled anyone just to try to be an intern on Sarkan’s hypothetical political team. It wouldn’t have been hard for her, either- at six feet tall, Kasia was built like an Amazon, perhaps 30% swaths of blond hair and 70% muscle. She was a year-round athlete, and certainly looked it.

The crowd suddenly grew hushed, as the lights in the hall dimmed and a spotlight appeared on the stage. Sarkan came out from the wings, his hands clasped, his hair immaculately slicked, clothed entirely in black. Agnieszka leaned back in her seat and rolled her eyes as applause filled the theater. Kasia, in her excitement, grabbed Nieshka’s hand and grinned at her in the darkness. Agnieszka shrugged and smiled, resolving to attempt interest, if only for her friend.

When Sarkan spoke, he did so in a voice that was somehow remarkably quiet and understated, despite it filling the lecture hall. Kasia was enthralled. Agnieszka’s impatient mind was elsewhere, but she was doing her best to concentrate, and found herself intrigued. Sarkan had a faint, unfamiliar accent that she couldn’t place, and he spoke plainly and beautifully - the typical speech about a path to success, which seemed silly considering Sarkan had been likely born successful. He managed to somehow speak about himself without disclosing much personal information, maintaining his composed and mysterious front.

He paused near the end of his speech, smiling faintly. “I suppose this is the point that I announce something that has been rumored for a while. I am going to be running for the local house representative seat. In this world, I think that political engagement is important, and I plan to serve this area that has grown with me all these years. Thank you.”

The audience stood to applaud. Kasia was standing on her toes, clapping and grinning. “Come on!” she called at Agnieszka over the noise of the crowd and grabbing her hand.“He’s doing a meet-and-greet. Come on, I don’t want to be stuck at the back of the line!” 

Several minutes later, Kasia was standing in front of Agnieszka, leaning over the table as she enthusiastically greeted Sarkan. He smiled politely, shook her hand, and commented on her chosen major, and then Kasia was smiling back at her and it was Agnieszka’s turn to meet Sarkan. She approached him, unsure whether she really wanted to. She’d made up her mind that she was unimpressed by him, and had mostly stood in the line to meet him for Kasia’s sake.

“Agnieszka Wójcik,” she told him, holding out her hand. “Your speech was...very good.”

What an awkward beginning!

He smiled very slightly, shaking her hand. Pleasure to meet you, Agnieszka. Lovely name. Would you like a signature?”

“No thank you,” she responded, fixating, for some reason, on the dark circles under his eyes.

“All right then,” he said, setting down his pen and flexing his hand. “What’s your path to success?” His typical question, for all of his visitors.

“Um.” said Nieshka. “I, take classes, um, in botany. I work at a florist. I...know what I like, then.”

“A florist, huh?” His extremely dark eyes reminded her of dogs’ eyes, for some reason. They flickered slightly as he leaned forward. He shoved forward a scrap of paper. “Can you write down your information for me? I’m going to need some floral designs for my stage decorations as I begin to campaign, you see.”

“Yes?” Agnieszka responded, a little confused. She copied down the name of the store and the web address. As she handed him the paper, she couldn’t help wondering why he wanted her, specifically, at the tiny flower shop she worked at just for the money, to craft flower displays for his highly important campaign. She watched him smile at her, wondering why on earth he’d picked her.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, I am tired. Forgive me for this short length and such. I'm hoping I can make more out of this, cause I think the premise is kind of cute- so stay tuned, I hope!


End file.
